‘Water wars’ used to seem like the stuff of science fiction. But water poverty is creating major geopolitical upheaval right now in the real world. It contributed to the Arab Spring in Egypt, and to the growth of ISIS in Syria argues Dr Karen Piper, who teaches post colonial studies and English and is adjunct professor of geography at the University of Missouri. In this conversation about her extensively researched book, The Price of Thirst: Global Water Inequality and the Coming Chaos Dr Piper paints a disturbing picture of the world’s journey towards the ‘coming chaos’ – including dams that desiccate neighbouring countries and an International Monetary Fund that insists on developing countries handing over their water to multinational corporations who make a profit from drought.